The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems (IHSs), and more particularly to an IHS support member for supporting an IHS chassis.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an IHS. An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
IHSs typically include an IHS chassis that is commonly placed on a support surface when the IHS is being used. It is desirable for the IHS chassis to sit level with the support surface and not rock and/or wobble when a force is applied to the IHS chassis.
Preventing the rocking and/or wobbling of the IHS chassis, especially on an uneven surface, may be addressed by providing support members or ‘feet’ that extend from the bottom surface of the IHS chassis to engage the support surface in order to prevent the bottom surface of the IHS chassis from engaging the support surface. One solution includes relatively hard, solid support members fabricated from plastic, metal, or other similar materials. However, this type of solution requires careful control of the distortion tolerances in the IHS chassis that may be introduced during and/or after manufacture of the IHS to ensure that the rocking and/or wobble phenomenon is avoided. Distortion tolerances may arise due to assembly deviations, part bending, weight deviations, and/or any variety of reasons and thus, can raise costs of manufacturing the IHS. Another solution includes relatively soft solid support members fabricated from rubber or other similar material. However, the distortion tolerances discussed above can still result in the rocking and/or wobble phenomenon by preventing all of the support members from engaging the support surface simultaneously. Yet another solution is shown in FIG. 1 and includes a double shoot support member (A) having a rubber outer portion (B), a plastic insert support (C), which includes an integrated plastic attachment heat stake (D) to hold the member (A) to the IHS chassis (E). As should be understood, the plastic insert support (C) that extends outward near the outer edges of the support member (A) causes the support member (A) to have a small deformation capability. However, these traditional support members cannot transform shape enough to absorb system wobble.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved IHS support member for supporting an IHS chassis.